Rebellion MC 3: Anton & Piper’s story Read online

  I glance down at my own plate. The creamed potato isn’t anything special. “Erm, I’m not sure. Would you like me to ask the cook?”

  Piper blushes. “No. It’s amazing though. You can tell the cook that all the food is amazing.”

  “Out of interest, what sort of food do you usually eat?”

  “Well, just normal food. Ya know, like pie, chicken.” She shrugs her shoulders and scoops another fork full of creamed potato into her mouth. “Bernie makes a mean chicken and leek pie.”

  “Sounds delightful,” I say, and Piper laughs at my sarcasm.

  “You know that things like Venison aren’t normal everyday food. It’s amazing and all but give me a good pie any day.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Piper

  The dinner comes to an end, and the men stand. “Where are you going?” I ask Anton. I feel alarmed that he’s leaving me.

  “The men go off to talk business. Don’t worry. Grace will take care of you.” Anton smiles warmly at the woman sitting next to me.

  I give her an awkward smile and stand. I move closer to Anton, and he leans down slightly to hear me. “You can’t leave me here with these women. I don’t even know them, and if dinner is over, then I can go home.”

  “Our date isn’t over, Piper. Get to know the women. I’ll be back soon.” He moves towards the door and I follow. He glares at me. I’m irritating him. “What?”

  “I’d like to go home now.”

  “Fine.” He pulls out his cell.

  “Really?” I ask eagerly.

  “Yes. I’ll get the video clip emailed over to the club right away.” I scowl. “Now go and enjoy a glass of wine with these lovely ladies and stop following me. You’re making a scene.”

  He leaves the room, and I turn to find all of the women staring at me. Grace stands and claps her hands together. “Well, bring on the wine.” She smiles, reaching for a bottle from the center of the table. Once everyone’s got a glass, they all split off and begin chatting amongst themselves. I take my seat again. I’m not outgoing when it comes to getting to know strangers. Having grown up around the club, I haven’t been exposed to these kinds of people. My friends drink shots and pints of beer. Mae even likes a glass of whiskey now and again.

  Grace takes a seat beside me. “Have you and Anton been together long?”

  I laugh and shake my head. “God, no. We’re not together.”

  “Oh. Anton gave Carlos the impression you two were a thing. Carlos is my husband.”

  “This is our first date,” I say bitterly. “It’s very early on to say that we’re a thing.”

  “Anton can be very…” she pauses, and a smile plays on her lips.

  “Annoying?” I say, and she laughs.

  “I was going to say that he’s forceful. Don’t let him push you into anything if you’re not ready.”

  “So you know him well?”

  “He’s Carlos’s friend. He’s a good man. He’s done a lot for me and Carlos.”

  “I’ve never heard the words good man and Anton’s name in the same sentence,” I sigh, thinking over the video recording he has of me.

  “Sometimes, he goes about things the wrong way, but he has good intentions.” I decide to drink my wine because we clearly won’t agree about Anton being a good man. Thinking back, he’s done a lot of questionable things. Previously, he and Tag would rate girls with a number and then sleep with them to gain points against one another. He also lied to Lucy and told her that Tag was dead when he wasn’t. And now he’s blackmailing me into dating him. A brief memory of him turning up to help me months ago flashes through my mind, but I quash it down. It was supposed to be Tag that helped me anyway. I never asked Anton to step in.

  It’s another hour before the men return. They’re laughing, joking, and things seem more relaxed. The guests begin to make their excuses and leave, and when the final couple has left, I finally breathe a sigh of relief. Dinner was nice and all, but I’ve not felt like myself all evening.

  “Drink?” Anton asks, heading over to a small table. He lifts the glass lid off the decanter and begins to pour the contents into a glass.

  “No, thank you. I really should be leaving.” I yawn and stretch my arms above my head to show him how tired I am. Anton smiles but continues to pour two drinks. He hands me one, and I take it, rolling my eyes. “Why didn’t Ella come to dinner this evening?” I ask.

  A look passes over Anton’s face. I can’t quite make it out, but it reminds me of sadness. “She was busy,” he eventually says.

  “No, she definitely told me that she was binging on Netflix tonight.”

  “Yes, as I said, she was busy. Did you enjoy our date?”

  “Dinner was lovely. I’m not sure I fit with your people,” I laugh.

  Anton takes a seat next to me, and I shuffle up to the other end of the couch as discreetly as I can. “My people?” he repeats.

  “Yeah. Rich. Cultured. Intelligent.”

  Anton laughs aloud and throws his head back. “Cultured and Intelligent? They’re merely lucky but definitely not any of the things you say.”

  “Lucky in what way?”

  Anton thinks about the question. I notice he does that a lot when he wants to find the right answer. He lays his arm along the back of the couch, and his fingertips brush my bare shoulder. “Most were born into this world. Like me. We had fathers that were either born into the Mafia or that paid their way in. I come from a long line of Italian Mafia, but Tag, for example, his grandfather bought his way in.”

  “So, Tag is like the third generation of Mafia?”

  Anton nods and adds a smile. “I’m the eighth in line to head up the families,” he pauses. “Aren’t I lucky?” I don’t miss the bitterness in his tone, but I can’t let it intrigue me. I don’t want to get to know Anton. He might be hot, and he might have a stern look that could possibly melt off my panties, but I am sworn off men. I won’t let another power-hungry asshole hurt me like Hulk has.

  “How does a person buy into the Mafia?” I ask. I take a drink and gasp, it’s strong and burns my throat.

  “Are you enquiring for yourself?” he smirks.

  “I think I’d make a good boss,” I joke.

  “You pay by earning our respect,” he replies, his face suddenly serious.

  “That sounds do-able. It’s not really hard to get in. I thought you meant cold hard cash,”

  he sniggers. “The payment is so much higher than cash. It’s something money can’t buy. Once you’re in, you don’t get back out.”

  “So what if Tag tells you he’s had enough and he wants to ride off into the sunset with Lucy?” I suddenly feel tired. I pull my legs up underneath me and get comfy.

  “It wouldn’t happen,” he says firmly.

  “But if it did?” I ask.

  “It wouldn’t,” he replies.

  But if it did?” I ask again, and Anton looks irritated.

  He sighs heavily. “Then, he would be stopped.”

  “How would you stop him?”

  “Anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?”

  I nod. “My mom. I drive her insane with questions. Have done ever since I was a little girl.”

  Anton

  It takes almost ten minutes from Piper drinking the rest of her drink to her falling into a deep sleep. I thought she’d never stop talking. I prod her shoulder, and when she doesn’t react at all, I smile. I remove my jacket and then scoop her sleeping form up into my arms and carry her up to bed. I know what some of those made men are like, and the last thing I need is them to see Piper leaving here when I’ve already told them that we are a thing.

  I carefully lay her onto the king-sized bed and pull back the sheets. I take a step back. Her dress is beautiful, and she looked absolutely stunning this evening, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t comfortable enough to sleep in. I ponder it over for a second, and then I roll her onto her side and unzip the dress from the back. I gently tug it down her body, which isn’t easy now. She’s almost like a dead weight. I fold the dress over the back of the chair and glance over her body. Her black matching underwear clings to her tanned skin perfectly. I suck in a breath, trying to block out images of what might be beneath that delicate lace.

  I know from living with Ella that make-up removal is important, and I go into the en-suite bathroom to find a face cloth. I carefully wipe the make-up from her skin and marvel at the fact that she is just as beautiful without makeup.

  I lay the sheets over her and turn on the bedside lamp. I don’t think that she’ll wake any time soon, but if she does, I don’t want her to be scared.

  I open up her clutch and take her cell phone. Then I use her index finger to open up the screen lock before leaving the room.

  When I get into my office, I take her cell apart. I insert the tracking device into the back before putting it all back together and pulling up the tracking app on my own cell. I make sure I can pick up her signal and smile when it beeps up on my app. Perfect.

  I open up her messages. There’s one from Lucy asking how Piper’s date is going with the ‘scum bag.’ I laugh to myself. Lucy doesn’t hide the fact she dislikes me, and I really don’t give a crap. Next is a message from Hulk. It’s a photo of Piper half-naked and smiling up at the camera. The text underneath reads, ‘remember this.’ I shake my head. Hulk is pathetic, and that’s exactly why it’s going to be easy to make him pay.

  There’s a knock on my office door. I glance at the camera and see that it’s Michael. I buzz him in. “Late night?” I smirk, looking over his blood-stained white shirt. He unbuttons it and rips it from his skin, then goes into the walk-in wardrobe and pulls out a new white shirt. “Motherfucker bled like a pussy.”

  “Why didn’t you get one of the runners to do that shit?” I ask. I pour him a whiskey, and he takes it gratefully.

  “It needed a personal touch. Badmouthing me is bad enough but you…” he sighs. “Fucker needed to learn a lesson.” One of the drug dealers working below me has been getting too big for his boots and badmouthing the way we run things. We’ve made him very rich, letting him build up his own team of drug runners to sell our product, and it was insulting to know he wasn’t grateful.

  I watch Michael drink his whiskey. His appearance is very clean cut. He likes to wear suits and expensive ties. His glasses and square jaw give him a model yet geeky appearance. You wouldn’t expect him to be a brutal cold-hearted killer. “How did dinner go?”

  I smile at the memory of the beautiful girl I have sleeping upstairs. “Good. They seem happy that I appear to be settling down.”

  Michael nods. “That’s good. And the girl is happy with your plan?”

  “Not exactly.” I pour myself another drink and take a seat at my desk. “I haven’t spoken to her about it.”

  Michael raises his eyebrows. “Okay,” he says slowly. “Any reason for that?”

  I shake my head, no. “She isn’t exactly weak-willed. It’ll take some persuasive talk to get her to agree.”

  Michael sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Are you sure you can’t just pay someone willing?”

  I laugh and shake my head. “No. You know I like a challenge, and besides, this is personal.”

  “Because of the biker?”

  “He’s been skimming money from me, Michael.”

  “Then talk to Ace. He’ll get his men in order.”

  “No. We’re doing this my way.”

  “And Tag doesn’t know?” asks Michael. At the mention of Tag, I look away. He’s like a brother to me. I hate keeping this from him, but I know he won’t approve.

  The truth is that since my father died, and I was made into the boss, I’ve had to step up my game. Tag and I always talked about running things fairly and doing everything differently to how our fathers ran things. It’s not as easy as we thought. And while he’s off playing happy families with Lucy, I’ve discovered that violence is part of it. I get that the Rebellion is like his family too, but we both know that Hulk hates the Mafia. To find out that he’s been taking money from the protection racket we run just fuels my need to hit him where it hurts. Hulk doesn’t need the money. He’s taking it purely to try and get one over on me. I can’t let that shit slide.

  Michael leaves. I’m not sure where he goes during the night, and I don’t question him. I trust him, and I know he has my back. I head to bed. I look in on Piper, and she’s exactly as I left her.

  I don’t get much sleep. It isn’t surprising. I only ever sleep for two or three hours. I shower and dress then head down to the kitchen where Penny is cooking breakfast. She smiles warmly. “Good morning Mr. Martinez.” I nod and smile. She hands me a newspaper which I take and then sit at the table. It’s the same routine most mornings. “Your mother seems bright today.” My smile falters at the mention of my mom. “She ate some eggs.”

  Ella waltz’s in. “Don’t bother to tell him, Penny. He doesn’t give a shit.”

  “Language,” I mutter, staring down at the newspaper.

  “How was dinner? I really like Piper.” Ella’s chirpy tone bugs the shit outta me first thing.

  “Don’t get too close,” I warn.

  “ANTON!” We all look towards the doorway. Piper looks furious. “What the actual fuck?”

  I smile and point to the chair beside me. “Join us for breakfast, Piper.”

  “I will not join you for breakfast. I want to talk with you NOW!”

  “After breakfast. Now sit.”

  Piper looks at Penny like she’s just realized there are other people in the room. “Sorry,” she apologizes and then also gives a small wave to Ella. She then turns and leaves the room.

  Ella looks amused and cocks an eyebrow in my direction. “Ouch. Someone woke up grumpy.”

  By the time I reach Piper, she’s almost out the front door. I hook my arm around her waist and pull her against me. She lets out a scream.

  “I regret not fucking that sassy mouth now.” She wriggles against me to try and free herself, and I push my erection against her ass. She stills. “Keep moving, Piper, and I’ll take you back upstairs and fuck you in every hole.” Her skin prickles, and her breath hitches. She likes dirty talk and it thrills me. The best part is always the chase. I pull her cell from my pocket and open it. I’d disabled the security fingerprint last night.

  “What the hell,” she growls, trying to snatch it back. I pull her closer.

  “Hulk missed you last night.” I open up his messages. After the photograph, he’d proceeded to send her text messages asking how she was, why she wasn’t answering, and so on. I flick through them quickly. “Do you see how this could work for you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I have my reasons for pretending we’re dating. You could get something from it too.” I push myself against her and hiss in her ear.

  “I’m not having sex with you,” she snaps, breaking away from me. “Did you drug me last night?”

  “Tell me, how much attention has Hulk been paying you recently?” She shrugs her shoulders. “Because I’m betting that since you told him about our date, you’ve heard from him a lot more?”

  “You can’t just drug girls and make them stay at your house. It’s weird,” she huffs. I move closer to her until she’s backed up against the door. She sucks in a breath when I level my face with hers so that our lips are almost touching.

  “All we have to do is pretend to be fucking.” I move my mouth to her ear. “It could work for both of us. Now let’s get some breakfast, and then I’ll drop you home looking freshly fucked and loved up.”

  “I didn’t agree to anything,” she mutters.

  “But we both know that you will.” I move away and go back to the kitchen, confident that she’ll follow.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Piper

  After an uncomfortable breakfast with Anton and Ella, he finally agrees to drop me home. I’m silent for the entire journey. Anton smells good, and I’m having thoughts that I have no business thinking, but sitting so close to him in the back seat of his chauffeur-driven car is all too much. Thoughts invade my mind of this morning and Anton’s proposition. I stare idly out of the window at London’s busy roads. “What exactly would it entail?” I ask.

  Anton looks up from his cell phone. “What?”

  “What the hell do you think, Anton? What you said to me this morning!”

  He smirks. “It would entail us acting like we are a couple. A date here and there. Whatever couples do together these days.”

  I arch an eyebrow at him. “The couples that I know have sex.”

  He smiles wide and tucks his cell into his jacket pocket. “So, you want to have sex? Well, silver lining, I guess.”

  “NO!” I screech. “I don’t want to have sex. I’m just saying that it’s what couples do. We won’t be a real couple, so it doesn’t apply to us.” I feel my cheeks turn crimson with embarrassment. Now he thinks I want to have sex with him.

  Luckily, the car has stopped, but when I look out of the window, I notice we aren’t at the clubhouse. Instead, we’re at the gates of a house the size of a mansion. It looks like some kind of country club only...not in the country.

  I sit up straight. “Why are we here? I thought you were taking me home?”

  “It’s just a quick pitstop. There’s an issue I need to deal with.”

  I groan out loud as Anton steps from the car. His driver opens my door. “Shall I just wait here?” I ask.

  “No. You can wait inside. I shouldn’t be too long.” I roll my eyes and follow him towards the big house.

  “What is this place?”

  “It’s one of my private clubs. I co-own it, but my partner is on holiday at the moment.”

  As soon as we step inside, it’s obvious that this place is way out of my league. Everything inside the place looks expensive. From the white and grey marble floors to the crystal chandeliers. In front of us is a huge lobby with a female standing behind a welcome desk. She smiles brightly, showing us her white teeth. “Good morning, Mr. Martinez. Mr. Griar is waiting in your office.”